Rumor: X-Men: Dark Phoenix to Feature the Skrulls

A new rumor points to the Skrulls making their big screen debut in X-Men: Dark Phoenix. Twentieth Century Fox’s main series of X-Men movies is jumping forward once again to the 1990s and is set to tackle one of the X-Men comics’ most famous storylines. The title reveal confirmed what many expected, that Jean Grey’s evolution into the Dark Phoenix will once again be explored on the big screen. In doing so, the studio finally appeared to be ready to embrace the cosmic nature of the storyline with initial reports pointing to Jessica Chastain playing Lilandra, the Empress of the Shi’ar.

Those reports were debunked by Chastain herself, but who she’s actually playing has yet to be revealed. But, it’s still expected that the Shi’ar will appear in some way. Thanks to a new rumor, they may not be the only alien race set for Dark Phoenix.

Universo X-Men is reporting exclusive details that came from the set of X-Men: Dark Phoenix that, if true, signal the X-Men franchise introducing Marvel’s shapeshifting alien race known as the Skrulls. The information comes from a reported description of a sequence from the film involving a mutant-focused discussion at the UN building. This sequence reportedly features Professor X (James McAvoy), Magneto (Michael Fassbender), Cyclops (Tye Sheridan), and Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) as they attend the debate, only to be surprised by an alien attack. According to this report, it is a Skrull invasion that they will encounter.

The report needs to be taken with a grain of salt until further notice as this is not a typical source for breaking news. That said, the site did prove to be fairly accurate with their description of a scene in X-Men: Apocalypse, so their report may indeed be true. If it is, it will be the first appearance of the Skrulls in live-action, and a surprising debut to say the least. While the Skrulls are involved in the Dark Phoenix Saga, it is only a minor role.

To make things even more interesting, fan theories will undoubtedly look at this as a potential sign of a crossover with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel Studios has already announced that the Skrulls will be a major part of Captain Marvel, and with that movie coming out in early 2019 and also being set in the 1990s, this is either a major coincidence or a sign of the crossover fans have been waiting for. However, the chances of that happening are surely slim, so it just appears that the Skrulls will get a bigger push than previously expected.

The Skrulls are one of the few Marvel properties to which Fox and Marvel Studios share the big screen rights. Similar to how each could use Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, this is another gray area. James Gunn has previously explained the Skrulls rights, so Dark Phoenix may have access to some characters that Marvel isn’t planning to use. What this means for the Shi’ar’s presence is unclear, as it could signal a shift in the film’s focus. If this is true, it will hopefully be confirmed sooner rather than later.